News - December 2013 - Next Episode

Wed Dec 25, 2013 - Specials, Facebook and Holidays

Couple of things. Specials are in! You'll notice them appearing here and there. Let me know if they cause issues!

Also, can we get those 4.9k Facebook Likes above 5k? (or 10k? :D). Support Next Episode - give it quick like.
We won't spam your Facebook feed or anything.

Finally - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays etc! Hope you're with your loved ones getting/giving awesome presents. Cheers!

comments [9]

Tue Dec 24, 2013 - Specials. Do we need them?

by santah

I know the timing isn't perfect for serious stuff, but it was brought up and I decided it was time to deal with this issue :)

We don't list 'Specials' on Next Episode.

The reason is that most of the specials are recaps of previous episodes and will be just cluttering our episodes list, making us constantly check if the episode is something new (which it most likely isn't).

Take a look at Doctor Who. I just enabled 'Specials' for that show, and it's a great example why Specials are ignored.

What do you think of Specials? You want them in here or do you think they should be ignored?

comments [32]

comment # 1 by toidol

I for one could do without them.

comment # 2 by gerben

I think they're mostly useless, like you said. I sometimes do watch them. But so far I really wouldn't have missed anything, if I hadn't. So listing them is just clutter. What's next, listing (also useless) webisodes? :-)

Edit: I just notice something wrong with editing. The escape slashes shouldn't be there. Plus they are stacked every time you edit. Linefeeds are messed up too, looks like.

comment # 3 by madboobs

you should make a new list called specials.. coz for me they are under the last season.

comment # 4 by santah

@gerben - fixed!

comment # 5 by katy

Personally I have never missed them not listed on a shows page on the site.
I rarely watch specials, actually looking at the doctor who ones don't think I ever watched any. (I love Doctor Who as well)
Guess for me it isn't that important

comment # 6 by santah

@madboobs - they are, because all those specials are in the last season (there are specials in the other seasons as well)

comment # 7 by cneddy

Doctor Who specials are great tbh , and having other shows listed wouldn't be too much for me. I prefer to know something bad is out and decide to skip it instead of not knowing about a good one at all.

comment # 8 by misfitnz

I've got to agree with cneddy above. Best to know and make up my mind than to not know and miss something potentially great.

comment # 9 by jb64

I prefer the specials. I can always skip the ones that aren't really what I'm after. Dr Who is an extreme example, but I missed some of it because the specials were omitted. Other shows often have Christmas eps that aren't rehashes/clip collections, especially UK shows.

Suggestion to appease everyone - an extra config toggle to be notified of specials so those that don't want them can leave them off and those that do can turn notifications on.

comment # 10 by bballuk

Some specials are worth watching because it tells you what happened between season "X" and Season "Y". I agree you should enable if people don't like its easy enough just click Watched/Skip.

comment # 11 by rahdo

I'd prefer specials be listed, and webisodes while we're at it (if possible)

comment # 12 by whatwho

The Doctor shows what is wrong with the "specials" tag. Many Dr specials are as described regurgitations (or "documentaries") -- and some are wonderfully watchable new items.
Looking back, The Doctor Christmas "specials" have all been *real* episodes. The Red Nose specials have been fresh entertaining mini-episodes (i.e. Time and Space)

Because of the good stuff imbedded in the garbage, I'd vote for *list-them* somehow-- until such time as the makers do a better job of IDing the material.

comment # 13 by rlo

Recaps no, specials which are actually a new episodes YES!

comment # 14 by swoof

I say list the specials, so i can decide if i whant to whatch them, it easy to just mark them as seen if i dont whant to see

comment # 15 by dofus

Some specials are real episodes that makes transitions between seasons or tells stories, these could be listed. Other specials are just bullshit that do not need to be listed. I am uncertain if it is possible to separate these two categories without actually watching them though. I just watched the "Bad Education" christmas special and not only was it a real episode it can actually also be the finale of the whole show if it does not get renewed again. It was in many ways written like a finale.

comment # 16 by Paul_Bags

I err on the side of completeness.

comment # 17 by thething

I thought I watched all of the doctor who specials over the years, turns out i missed a few several minutes nuggets of the doctors, which are fun. I thought it was nice, and I don't even mind the checking if something is a recap, having already cap'ed it the first time around I can be confident in my ticking it as "Watched"

comment # 18 by Jono

IMO specials would be nice to see here. For example Top Gear specials are good stuff. Also if I übergeek over a show I want to see everything ever made about it.

If its easy to implement then maybe a tickbox in the settings to "show specials"?

comment # 19 by m3lla

they'r usful!

comment # 20 by aaranmcguire

I think they should be shown, yes it may be a pain to see them from all the previous years, but once there ticked off its like any other show.

comment # 21 by katy

I now feel like I should check out some of the specials that have just appeared on my watch list :-)

comment # 22 by evgeniha

Show specials checkbox in setting to show/hide will be nice.

comment # 23 by dtjohnst

I think Doctor Who is the perfect example of why they SHOULD be shown. Sure, for most shows the specials are just recaps and a lot of people would probably ignore them, but it's better to see them and ignore them rather than try to figure out what you've missed if something is referenced that you don't remember. And like aaran said, once you've checked off the old "specials", it's really not hard to keep up with them all.

comment # 24 by ofortun

This is fantastic, thanks!

comment # 25 by ccn

Thanks for turning specials on.
Found episode of "The IT Crowd" I didn't know about.
Pretty easy to do a one off to get rid of specials you're not interested in.

comment # 26 by il

I like it. it's useful. now i wont miss out on the specials

comment # 27 by pak

This crap just made my *FULL* list of watched episodes disappear... TWICE!..

Yesterday all episodes from all series where marked as non-watched so remarked them all as watched manually... Today it's all back to the same crap as yesterday...

Please *TEST* these features before enabling... Luckily i knew the few things i had had not watched yet but if this would have happen during one of my work-trips it would have been hell!

comment # 28 by nebu

Thanks for showing the specials!! I discovered some stuff I had missed. For one, the Sherlock special between season 2 and 3 is a great example of why specials are worth beeing showed!

comment # 29 by izalea

I like to know if there are specials :)

comment # 30 by Fenrisfil

I think a lot depends on the type of special. Doctor Who is a good example as it has good and bad specials, definitely not worth the time listing are those "guide" type shows that are just a mish mash of tiny clips and random comments from random celebrities (sometimes ones with no relation to the show at all) all thrown at you in fast succession without ever telling you anything you didn't already know (if you were enough of a fan of the show to want to watch something like that) in a format that appears to be targeted at late teens with severe ADD.

Meanwhile the webisode shorts, especially the night of the doctor were well worth it and actually added something to the story. Same goes of course for the actual episode specials. Proper documentaries are worthwhile too. The aftershow party thing that aired after the anniversary episode... that was just awkward and painful to watch. Same goes for the announce the new doctor show.

Changing the subject from Doctor Who, I watched that Lost Girl pre-season party thing.... Almost made me not want to quit the show before the new season even started.

So basically actual documentaries and story additions are fine. Clips, ADD Nightmares, Random unrelated celebrities talking about the show and cast member slumber parties (or similar embarrassingly awkward shows which apparently involve everyone acting like teenagers) are not.

comment # 31 by DarkXoiX

Please add the option of turning off specials.

comment # 32 by Substance

+1 for an option to turn on/off specials. I might even go so far as to making it an overall setting per show, that way you can enable specials on the shows you care about and ignore it for the rest. The default setting would be whatever the user setting is with an overall default to _on_, that way new users will find the specials, and if they dislike it, it's just a single setting to change.

new comment

Wed Dec 18, 2013 - iPhone app minor update

by santah

The iOS 7 iPhone App was just updated to version 2.1.

The new stuff is: a new app icon; layout tweaks; the app now remembers the tab it's in once you close it.

It's a very minor update, but those things bugged me a lot (along with many users) and had to be done!

Keep in mind that each app update resets the current rating of the app in the store, so please - take the time to go in there from your device and rate/review it, even if you already did for a previous version.

Now back to working on that iPad version and Android update :) Thank you all and feedback is as always - more than welcome!

comments [1]

Thu Dec 12, 2013 - How fast is Next Episode for you?

by santah

I'm digging through some stats, and I'm seeing that the average page load time for Next Episode is about 4 seconds.

I wonder how much this can be trusted, as it says it's more than 4 seconds for UK users (and the site is hosted in the UK).

How fast is it loading for you? And which country are you in? Help me compare real user experience to Google Analytics data.

comments [93]

comment # 1 by tseonaid

loads in 1.5 secs. I am in the uk

comment # 2 by davo_007

I agree with the above, about 1.5 sec from Australia.

comment # 3 by mowgli

about 1 - 1,5 second from Belgium

comment # 4 by wizard

Super quick from me in the UK. No where near 4 seconds. Check this out...
http://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnext-episode.net%2F&tab=mobile

comment # 5 by santah

@wizad - yep, I know it :)

comment # 6 by toidol

Max 1 second load in Finland in my experience.

comment # 7 by nightcrow

Max 1 second in Israel

comment # 8 by deke

yea, around 1 second here in UK

comment # 9 by thepace

~1 second , Serbia

comment # 10 by stuf

~10 seconds from China (off-peak). 1 second back home (Holland)

comment # 11 by wizard

Oh, also, I block all Google Analytics, and I am sure other people do to, so they could be default timeout values.?

comment # 12 by gerben

Mostly less than a second in the netherlands, standard adsl connection. Only botd slower because of the image. Which is hosted elsewhere.

comment # 13 by denniztg

Less then a second. Living in Malta.

comment # 14 by incgeneralmelv

1 second uk

comment # 15 by sean14

4 seconds argentina!

comment # 16 by fry

about 1-1.5 in the USA

comment # 17 by linux169

mostly below 1sec. Sweden

comment # 18 by al2612

In the UK. Probably less than 0.25 seconds. Very fast. Always is.

comment # 19 by Proteinnerd

2.5 seconds...In Australia

comment # 20 by Tegellan

Denmark, about a second

comment # 21 by porosigs3

1.5-2 sec ,Greece

comment # 22 by jazga

about second or two, in Finland

comment # 23 by oktayk

1000-2000ms, Turkey

comment # 24 by WickedWombat

1-1.5 seconds Australia

comment # 25 by tivvit

1s from Czech republic

comment # 26 by jralph

1 sec or so, UK

comment # 27 by Niels124

Below 1 sec in Holland

comment # 28 by joycalhoun61

1.5 seconds in U.S. (TX)

comment # 29 by ilicito

1-4s in the US (NY). Some show pages load almost instantaneously, while others take several seconds.

comment # 30 by pnp

1 sec in sweden

comment # 31 by sailboats

1.5-2.0s Israel(HOTmobile)

comment # 32 by villusion

~1s finland

comment # 33 by franzulo

1-1,5 seconds in Poland.

comment # 34 by kintamayama

1 second in Israel (Bezeqint)

comment # 35 by laffee

1-3 seconds in India (Mumbai)

comment # 36 by anenburg

2 sec - israel

comment # 37 by amalteaser01

1 Sec - Uk

comment # 38 by boonkeat1020

2 sec - Penang

comment # 39 by runar3

around 1 second in Finland (with manual timing), feels fast enough anyway

comment # 40 by RichChard

Anywhere between 0.5-1.5 seconds. UK. Never any issues with load times personally.

comment # 41 by msopnet

Depends on my browser. My iPad Mini displays it much slower than my desktop on the same WiFi. My ping is always less than 100ms when I use SpeedTest.net and a nearby location. Google Chrome also loads noticeably faster than Internet Explorer.
iPad Mini: ~2-3s
Desktop Google Chrome: ~1s
Desktop Internet Explorer: ~1.5s
Minneapolis, MN, US

comment # 42 by hometimenow

~1.5 - 2 sec Australia
Firefox. My Homepage not cached - always use private browse and purge history and cache on close.

comment # 43 by maj03

Just over 1 second, 2 seconds at times. Central US using Chrome.

comment # 44 by niagarabeech

1 SECOND IN Ontario, Canada

comment # 45 by redemptor

Poland, no more than 1.5 seconds, usually takes only a second.

comment # 46 by Micheloz

1 second, Holland!

comment # 47 by Rigobaligo

1 second , Sweden

comment # 48 by matrim

1 second in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada using IE 11 and FTTH Bell Internet service

comment # 49 by ssschmidt

1 to 1.5 seconds, US - South Carolina, using Safari

comment # 50 by lockdude

About .5 seconds here in the US. That's with Firefox on a hard wired true 100.0 Mbps connection.

comment # 51 by sebgiroux129

1 second in Canada

comment # 52 by Salomon

0.5 or less in Finland.

comment # 53 by spanish_tom

1.5 seconds in France

comment # 54 by El+Grande

Instant < 1 sec from Germany. same as lockdude Firefox and 100.0 Mbps connection.
BotD loads in about 3 sec fully.

comment # 55 by gregersamsa

1 sec from Miami, USA. 10Mbps connection through cable and cable modem.

comment # 56 by strowbr

1.5 seconds Czech Republic

comment # 57 by lyselilla

1 second, if not less. Norway.

comment # 58 by unksi

2-6 seconds from Finland, resetting cache between each try. 4 seconds is pretty close to the average.

Less than 1 second without clearing the cache.

comment # 59 by xizyo

1s, sweden

comment # 60 by apelgrandure

1s South Africa

comment # 61 by soleron

1s in Greece

comment # 62 by lordroy

1.23 seconds East Coast USA

comment # 63 by rmaugham

Instant in Japan

comment # 64 by hamori

< 1s, Japan

comment # 65 by mgut

About 0,5 sec, live in Norway

comment # 66 by robstoves

653 milliseconds, in the UK

comment # 67 by Thorn

Less than 1 sec in sweden

comment # 68 by samuelcomplex

Less than 1 sec, Sweden.

comment # 69 by Boytano

less than a second, uk

comment # 70 by dedu33

0,5-1 sec sweden

comment # 71 by michielvredeveldt

Microseconds in the Netherlands (cable)

comment # 72 by skywalker_208

1 sec - Ireland

comment # 73 by Sama

less then a second - norway

comment # 74 by ndwalters

2 sec - Australia

comment # 75 by Daimhal

0.5 sec - Sweden

comment # 76 by caruthers

Yep, definitely less than a second : London, UK

comment # 77 by Edmund-Leo

less than a second - The Hetherlands

comment # 78 by Fred+Bayliss

Under 2 seconds on copper in shropshire

comment # 79 by shotty

1,5 seconds - Austria

comment # 80 by tajak

1,5 sec - Slovenia

comment # 81 by kimnton

1 Second - Canada

comment # 82 by vana

1 second - Norway.

comment # 83 by jah_1967

1 - 1.5 seconds in Portugal. Got fibre, 100mb per sec.

comment # 84 by leanne2201

about 1-2 seconds max. I'm in the UK

comment # 85 by dolomedia

I'm in Cornwall UK, about 300 miles from central London and load time is just over 1 second

comment # 86 by Kannski

Quick... I pressed "enter" ran for my stopwatch but the site already loaded when I came back.

comment # 87 by will600000

A mear half second, ISP talktalk (Hastings)

comment # 88 by h0rnytoad1

canada, east coast, pretty much instant. i'd say under 3seconds

comment # 89 by meta4

1 sec. in Norway

comment # 90 by markalitimnath

less than 2 sydney australia

comment # 91 by Aadia

2 seconds max. Wireless, Finland.

comment # 92 by santah

Thanks everyone, this was very helpful! :)

comment # 93 by duving

1 sec. Denmark.

new comment

Thu Dec 05, 2013 - Next Episode for the iPhone 2.0 Available

by santah

The update is live! These are the new promo screenshots for the app, and here is what's new with this update:

Fully redesigned for iOS7, everything is much cleaner, quicker and simpler now, should be nicer too :)
Recent / Calendar is now a real calendar view, with toggleable months
Series Details contain more info (like channel, hour, runtime, next episode summary)
Trailers - there are now trailers for most popular shows (and more will be added all the time) which should help discovering cool new series
Search directly in My Shows - which is more intuitive and searches both your shows and new ones
The loading should be barely noticeable

I worked very hard to make this the best update I could. I hope you'll find it as joyful to use as I do :)

Please - spare a minute to rate and/or review the app on the AppStore. It'll mean a ton and it'll only cost you a few seconds...

Bring on the comments/requests/critique - here or in the forum. I'm starting work on an iPad version and the Android update!

comments [12]

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